Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Greetings:

I've used Steele's repro rubber over the years and most of it is okay, but I'm having a helluva time getting adhesive to stick to the front door seals that are under the trailing edge of the front fenders on my '51 300.

The original seals were foam with a steel core and Steele's replacement is a solid rubber that seems to have a lot of silicone (sic) in it. I always use the gold standard of adhesive, 3M, but it just won't stick.

Anyone else run into this, and if so what's the cure?

Thanks

Bob in Portland

1. What leads u to suspect the weather stripping has silicone in it????
2. To the best of my experience and knowledge there is NOTHING that will stick to silicone except maybe silicone itself.
3. What does Steele recomend to use as an adhesive????

I'm no chemist...it's just what it feels like.

I'm using their recommended 3M #08011

Call them and and ask for a return or a different recommendation.

Is the cement not adhereing to the weatherstrip or not adhereing to the painted door jam surface???? If the door jam has been recently polished with somekind of car wax or polish then that MIGHT be the problem. If the cement simply does not stick to the weather seal "rubber" itself then the weatherseal is somekind of material not suited for the application.

As a last ditch effort try something called Seal-All. "GAS-OIL" in big leters on tube. Avaialble at Dollar general or Freds dept discount stores and eBay. IF that won't stick to the weatherstrip then nothing will.

First of all, not all repro "rubber" is rubber. Some are various thermoplastics. So step one is to figure out out what is used in that profile (ask Steele to check). Then contact 3M for a recommendation. If it's an EPDM or other rubber, some of the formulae "bloom" - exude a whitish slippery deposit. Wipe this off in the area to bond with Isopropyl alcohol before sticking it on. There is no "one magic product bonds all material" adhesive.

The 3M adhesive I used is 3M Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive Black #08008. $11 per 5 oz tube.
You put 1 or 2 feet worth on the car (cleaned area), same on the weatherstrip. Let them dry until tacky, then position it and press. I tried other adhesives without success. I couldn't find a listing for 8011, but that's me.

The procedure and product Joe describes and uses works the best for me too.

(o[]o)

Joe's method worked for me, although I also roughed up the backside of the rubber with some sand paper, then used some lacquer thinner to clean it. Thanks.

Bob